Comment - Now you know what astronomers do to keep busy when the skies are cloudy. They make up geeky jokes (is there any other kind? Click on the Dark Skies link on the left hand side of the page to see "testimonials" from happy users.).

News - Scientists suggest laying a fiber optic line to the South Pole: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/19/technology/circuits/19NEXT.html

Comment - They need a fast data connection for the scientific station at the Pole. Few satellites cover that end of the Earth. Fiber optic would work but it would be a real engineering challenge to lay it across glaciers and 13,000 foot mountains.

News - BattleBots won't be renewed on Comedy Central, but entrepreneurs hope to open a BattleBot theme restaurant: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/19/technology/circuits/19BOTS.html

Comment: The Lazy Toad Robot Club, a theme restaurant in Pittsburgh, will have a 24-by-24-foot arena for combat. They hope to have fighting robots every day, teach classes, sell parts and rent robots to patrons who have not yet built their own.

News - Sony will introduce a new camcorder this fall that let's you send video and still photos directly to the Internet via a wireless connection: http://makeashorterlink.com/?Z58521BD1

Comment: It uses the Bluetooth wireless technology. You could shoot video of a grandchild's concert, then go home to your wireless network and, by pressing a button, send it directly to grandma and grandpa.

Click here to see current comments and add your own.

11:16:28 AM